


Gold Timing

by Swashbuckler



Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: (It's mentioned hence the bitterness), Alternate Canon, Bitterness, Canon-Typical Violence, Episode: s04e11 The Elongated Knight Rises, Friendship, Gen, Hartley Rathaway Being an Asshole, Metahumans, Rescue, S.T.A.R. Labs Pipeline Prison, Snark, Sort Of, Team Flash and The Rogues Work Together
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-23
Updated: 2020-09-23
Packaged: 2021-03-08 01:09:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,649
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26617240
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Swashbuckler/pseuds/Swashbuckler
Summary: Ralph never made it to Clarx Toys in time to rescue Caitlin and Cisco from Trickster and Prank.Thankfully, somebody else did.
Relationships: Cisco Ramon & Caitlin Snow
Comments: 4
Kudos: 13





	Gold Timing

**Author's Note:**

> It occurred to me that Team Flash wouldn't be the only ones who saw the Trickster's broadcasts and who knew Caitlin and Cisco, and then this happened. 
> 
> First section of this fic is lifted directly from the events of The Flash episode 4x11 "The Elongated Knight Rises", and then it diverges from there.

"Well we asked for one hero, but now we've got _two!_ "

Caitlin and Cisco grimaced at the Trickster's triumphant shout and his mother's grating laughter, their faces angled away from the camera. Cuffed and bound, there was nothing they could do but sit and hope that Iris and Harry would come up with something _fast._

"It's time for a showcase showdown," Prank told Central City. "So let's spin that wheel and find out what fun prize awaits our new friends." The Trickster was practically bouncing as he spun the flashing Wheel of Misfortune, watching it rattle through all the grisly possibilities and cackling at his hostages. 

"Hurry up!" Prank encouraged her son as she joined him on stage with a wistful sigh. "I haven't killed anyone in years.” Caitlin shot Cisco an earnest, fearful look as the wheel ticked to a stop, needle stuck between two options.

"Oh, a tie. Hm." Trickster shrugged. "I guess they die together.” There was a bout of gleeful applause from Prank as the Trickster looped around them, casually plucking Cisco's visor from over his eyes as he passed; Cisco started and was met with the Trickster's sadistic little smile above him.

"It has been great fun having you on the show," Prank told them, knees bent so she was eye level with the pair of them, hand over her heart as she spoke with awful, heartful sincerity, "but now it's time for you to go. And I don't think you'll be back for next time," she finished in a loud whisper before sharing another horrible laugh with her son.

The Trickster bowed, gesturing to the lever. "Prank, would you do the honours?"

"Aw," Prank patted her son's cheek and he bounced back to standing, beaming, "thank you, Booboo."

The Trickster ducked his head down, arm thrown around Cisco’s shoulders. "Say 'buh-bye' now!" the Trickster sang in a nasal voice, waving at the camera. He backed away with a razor sharp smile, wiggling his fingers at Caitlin and Cisco as Prank gripped the Axid lever.

Caitlin gave Cisco a sad smile, eyes shining. "I'm sorry."

Cisco nodded, swallowing thickly. "I'm sorry, too." There was an awkward shuffle of bound arms and cuffed hands, but they managed, just, to reach and grip each other's fingers under the arms of their chairs. “C’mere.” Cisco raised his chin and Caitlin tucked her head against his shoulder. He put his cheek against her hair and they both, together, screwed their eyes shut. 

"Well this looks like a party."

Caitlin and Cisco's eyes shot open. Prank and the Trickster whipped around at the sound of the mellow voice accompanied by the slow click of heels on the warehouse floor. The woman in black and gold stopped in the centre of the haze of garish and glimmering colours, almost pouting. "Why wasn't I invited?" 

Prank, the junior Trickster, Caitlin and Cisco all gawked at the woman.

"You're not Stretchy Man," Prank said, high and surprised. On the other side of Caitlin and Cisco, the Trickster clicked his fingers through his gloves.

"You!" he said, pointing at her. "You you you-- You're _Captain Cold's_ sister."

Behind the camera, Lisa Snart smiled, sweet as cyanide. "I prefer ‘Golden Glider’."

"Booboo," Prank said, "who is our new friend?"

"This," the Trickster said imperiously with a flourish of his hand, "is Golden Glider. Leader of the Rogues, preceded by a dazzling reputation, an innate talent for evading the CCPD, and infamous for her expensive taste." He stooped, giggling a little. "You took out the Santinis," Trickster praised, eyes wide and bright behind his mask.

"That was three years ago," Lisa crooned. "You haven't kept up?"

The Trickster shrugged, a little bashful under Lisa’s gaze. "They don't have cable in gen-pop."

Prank was surveying Lisa with interest. "I heard about the Santini casino. Nice work."

"Why thank you.”

"I guess this means we've hit the jackpot,” Prank said with breathless excitement, “what with such Rogue royalty making a guest appearance on our show.” The Trickster was prowling slowly forwards. “After all, all that glitters is may not be gold --” Prank’s gracious smile turned sinister “--but all gold melts.”

Everything happened so quickly. Cisco was shouting _"no!"_ as the Trickster snatched an Axid-loaded water pistol from behind him, both he and Prank laughing. Lisa's bemused expression hardened to ice in an instant and the Gold Gun was whipped from its holster before Caitlin could breathe. There was a flash of gold and a shout from the Trickster, however all the audience of Central City saw was a woman in a luminescent dress burst onto the scene in a cloud of dark smoke. She leant into the camera, hand reaching past it and out of sight. 

"Sorry," she said, "show's cancelled." And every screen across the city went black.

Caitlin and Cisco watched as Axel dropped the gun now coated in a solid shine of gold and stumbled away from the stage’s edge. "Where the hell did you come from?" Axel asked, affronted, as Shawna Baez moved to stand beside Lisa. 

"Peek-a-boo," Shawna chimed, smirking.

Caitlin carefully leant into Cisco's side. "Are we in more trouble," she whispered through her teeth, "or less?" Cisco gave his head the tiniest shake, eyes wide.

"I really, really do not know." 

"That's not fair!” Axel half snarled, half whined. 

"Because Tricksters always play fair," Lisa taunted without lowering her gun.

Zoey stepped forward, arm out protectively in front of her son. She stared, furious, at Lisa, then at the gun in her hand, then, a little more curiously, at the enrobed Axid gun at her feet. She tilted her head, watching the colourful carnival lights flicker in the gold coating. 

"I love the style," she praised darkly. "Surely that's not pure gold. Alloy? Coated compound?" Her eyes lit up. "Toxic paint?"

"I need to stop making such nice things," Cisco murmured to Caitlin. "The people we end up fighting are way too into them."

"You don't complain about Lisa liking it," Caitlin pointed out, just as quietly. As if on cue, Lisa's eyes flicked to Cisco.

"Trade secret," she told them. "A girl never tells." 

Caitlin raised her eyebrows pointedly at Cisco, who quickly frowned. “Shush."

“What do you want? Why’d you have to ruin this?” Axel sulked. “We don’t even know you.” 

“You know of me. That means you should also know you’re treading on some toes.”

“So, what, you own all of Central now?” Axel challenged bitterly.

“I think you’ll find we’re playing on home turf,” Zoey said with a dramatic gesture to the Clarx Toys warehouse. “Central City definitely has space for more than one criminal family. I know there have all been sorts of strange people running around this city in the last few years. I don’t see you ruining _their_ fun.”

“The Flash tends to get there first,” Lisa shrugged. She tilted her head. “But I wasn’t talking about Central.” 

Axel mirrored her, cocking his head to the side like an inquisitive puppy. “Then what do you wan--” A nasty grin split across his face. “ _Oooh._ ” He took two quick loping steps around the stage so he stood behind Cisco and Caitlin. He dropped into a stoop, elbows resting on the back of their chairs, chin resting on his fists. “You mean _them_!” he giggled while Caitlin and Cisco strained to lean as far from him as their restraints would allow. “What do you want them for?”

Lisa’s eyelashes fluttered. “We called dibs first,” she simpered.

Axel’s lip twitched at the mockery. “Go find your own heroes to kill,” he snapped. 

“You can have Stretchy Man,” Zoey offered amicably. “But we caught them fair and square.”

“That’s a shame,” Lisa said, face dangerously still. “Kinda got used to getting what I want.” 

“If you want them,” Axel sneered, “you’re gonna have to come and get them.” 

Lisa raised an eyebrow. “Okay.” 

Trickster Jr buckled as Shawna burst out of the air and kicked him hard in the stomach. One swift punch and the Trickster dropped. Shawna spun - another hard punch - and Prank collapsed in a heap at her feet. 

Cisco whooped. "Oh, Peek-A-Boo for the knockout!" he called over his shoulder. "Hey, girl, how's it goin'?"

" _Bite_ me, Cisco."

"Oh-kay," Cisco grimaced, "still not friends.” He nodded grimly. “That's fair."

"I cannot believe I’m actually happy to see you," Caitlin said seriously as Lisa gracefully ascended the stage steps.

“Missed you too, Caitlin,” Lisa said smoothly, sliding the Gold Gun back into its holster. 

"How did you know we were here?" Caitlin asked. "There's no way you had time from the beginning of the broadcast to get here, let alone find us."

Shawna appeared in front of them with a puff of smoke and look of derision. "Yeah, because travelling is so difficult." 

Caitlin flushed. "Right, of course. But how did you know where we were?"

“We happened to be in the area,” Lisa said breezily. 

"Oh yeah? Doing what?" Cisco asked warily.

Lisa smiled. "I'm not giving you a head start. You'll find out on the news tomorrow like everyone else.” She let her gaze flit to Axel splayed on the stage floor. “The Trickster isn’t hard to find - it’s not like subtlety is really his thing,” she said, casting her eyes around the warehouse. "The Tricksters like to make a lot of noise. We have someone who's good with that." 

There was the sound of soft footfalls on linoleum somewhere behind them, followed by a snort. "Looks like the 90s really are back."

"Oho, you have got to be kidding me," Cisco groaned to the warehouse ceiling.

"Hello, Cisco." Hartley stepped over the unconscious body of the Trickster. "Looks like you’re having fun."

Cisco gave a brittle laugh. "Wow, even rescuing someone and you're a dick," he snarked. "Congrats, you really are the best at what you do. Unrivalled, even." Hartley just continued to look smug.

"I asked Hart to keep an eye on baby Trickster," Lisa explained. "Didn't want him going to more drastic measures to get his dad’s attention and bring him back to Central City."

“Trickster senior’s out of Central?” Caitlin asked, surprised. Lisa nodded.

“Has been for months.” 

“Good riddance, too,” Shawna muttered.

“Joe did say he’d broken out of Iron Heights,” Cisco murmured. “Don’t suppose you know anything about that?” he directed at Lisa. She raised an eyebrow. 

“You think I have such bad taste in friends?” 

Cisco glanced at Hartley. “I-- just meant if you had heard anything,” he clarified casually.

Lisa considered this. “Lenny set a hard Trickster limit after his Christmas adventure with Mardon and Jesse. It’s not something I’ve ever considered pursuing. That doesn’t mean I haven’t heard rumours about his breakout.” 

“What’ve you heard?” 

Lisa gestured to Shawna who folded her arms over her chest. “Word has it Jesse just--” she shrugged “--disappeared from his cell. As if one day he walked into the glass and vanished.” She sniffed. “Thought disappearing tricks were just my thing. Apparently not.”

Cisco nudged Caitlin’s foot. “Hey-- Mirror Master?” he mouthed. Caitlin wrinkled her nose and nodded. “Urghhh, we gotta get on that,” he moaned. “Not looking forward to that fight. By the way, are any of you actually gonna untie us? Or are we supposed to just sit here looking pretty all night?” 

“You can certainly sit there,” Hartley said dryly. 

“That’s cheap, man.”

“Are you here to untie us?” Caitlin ventured, uncertain. 

Lisa laughed softly. “Sure. Only fair.” 

“Seriously?” Shawna challenged.

Lisa blinked. “Of course.” 

Shawna huffed and began to inspect Caitlin’s bindings as Lisa moved to Cisco’s side, while Hartley perched on a crate, watching Trickster and Prank. “So,” Shawna began snidely, tugging at a knot, “are they good enough for your secret science prison, or do they get the CCPD special?" 

“We-- don’t actually use the Pipeline anymore,” Caitlin admitted. 

“Lucky them,” Shawna muttered. She scowled at their bindings. “How the hell have they done this?” 

“Oh, they kinda just kept going and going with the knots,” Caitlin grimaced as Shawna picked at the tangled rope. “I think they just reckoned the overkill was funny.” 

“Pretty sure ‘overkill’ is their entire MO,” Cisco commented. He craned his neck, peering around the bedazzled warehouse. “Gotta give it to them though,” he mused, “at least they commit.”

Caitlin made a face. “Please tell me you’re not giving them points for style.”

“Hey, I’m just saying…” He sighed in relief as the ropes around his torso went slack. “Golden Glider, you truly are golden,” Cisco praised, pushing the coil of loose rope up over his head and off. He stood, stretching with a sigh, back clicking. “Uhh, could you--?” He held out his cuffed hands inquisitively. 

“Hart?” Lisa called. “Cuffs?” 

“It makes me happy that you don’t ask if I can,” Hartley told her. He slid off his perch, fiddling with the keys embedded in his gauntlets. “I’d say cover your ears, but…” 

“Oh, ha ha. Can you just--” 

Hartley squeezed his right fist and all were forced to grit their teeth against the sharp whistle from Hartley’s gauntlets. The cuffs flashed, a tremor rippling through in the metal, and the cuffs fell open and the noise was promptly shut off by Hartley. “You’re welcome.”

Caitlin pulled the cuffs from her wrists and chucked them away from her with a look of disgust. ”Cisco--” She was up out of her chair, wriggling out of the last loose loop of rope and pulling Cisco into her arms with a relieved noise as he pulled her in for a hug just the same. 

Lisa pinched the open cuffs from the stage floor. Beside her, Hartley was frowning at Prank. “Where’d they get Meta cuffs from?” 

“They, uh,” Cisco said, wiping a hand across his face before he turned to Lisa, and both he and Caitlin missed Lisa slipping them up her jacket sleeve, “they must’ve swiped them from Iron Heights on their way out.” He rubbed Caitlin’s arm. “You okay?” 

“Yeah, yeah,” she said quickly, nodding. “We got saved by the Rogues!” she said with a startled laugh. 

“Yeah,” Cisco said, equally surprised. “Thanks for that,” he said to Lisa, Shawna, and Hartley. “Seriously though,” he asked, “why did you save us? Really?” 

Lisa laughed, a soft little noise as she stepped forward. "Because you're my friend. And I wanted to say thank you for helping me before.” 

Cisco smiled. “Don’t mention it. Gotta say, keeping us from a bucket of acid beats a thank you card any day.” 

“I thought it might.” 

“What about those two?” Caitlin asked; Shawna was pointedly ignoring them, while Hartley was nudging a fallen Axid gun with his boot. Lisa flicked her eyes from Peek-A-Boo and the Pied Piper back to Cisco and Caitlin.

“I didn’t want to come here alone,” she said sweetly, eyes sparkling. “It might’ve been dangerous.”  


Cisco snorted. “Right, sure. You know, you guys had better clear outta here. The CCPD will be here soon probably, you don’t want them thinking you’ve taken us hosta--” Cisco froze. “Hostages.” 

Caitlin balked. “Oh gosh.” 

“What?” Lisa asked. “We don’t need to take you hostage to get away, if that’s what you’re worried about.”

“No no no no no, it’s not that.” Cisco shook his head. 

“There were other hostages here before we were, real hostages,” Caitlin explained. “A couple of delivery drivers, they were on the original broadca--” 

“They’re fine,” Hartley dismissed. “They’re conscious and tied up in the back store room.”

“How’d you know that?” Cisco gaped.

Hartley shrugged. “I saw them when I came in.” 

“Wh-- And you didn’t untie them?” Cisco yelled.

“Oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t realise you still needed someone else to do your job for you,” Hartley drawled. “Always reassuring to know you make as mediocre a hero as you do an engineer. Not sure how desirable consistency is for something like that, though.”

“Oh, you--!” 

_“Hartley.”_ Cisco was stopped from making for Hartley by a hand on his chest. Caitlin’s eyes were burning white, breath fogging as her lips gained a blue tinge. _“Can it.”_ Cisco had to enjoy the even brief look of shock on Hartley’s face before he composed himself into something pleasantly disinterested. 

Hartley licked his lips and raised his eyebrows. “Nice trick,” he offered. Caitlin’s lip curled in a brief sneer before her eyes warmed to brown.

“That’s new,” Lisa praised. “Still so uptight for it, or is helping you _cool_ off?” 

Caitlin blanched. “I-- Hey, you--” Caitlin stammered out an attempt at a response before huffing. “Cisco, let’s go.” 

“Right-- wait, we can’t just leave Trickster and Prank here.”

“We’ll watch them.” Cisco and Caitlin looked at Lisa, her face soft and open.  
Shawna and Hartley frowned at Lisa. 

“We will?” Hartley asked. Lisa gave him a hard stare.

“We’re not interested in them getting away either,” she told him, and Hartley raised his hands in mock surrender. 

“For real?” Cisco asked. Lisa nodded.

“You won’t kill them?” Caitlin frowned. 

Lisa smiled innocently. “Cross my heart.” 

Cisco and Caitlin paused, and Caitlin shrugged. “Okay,” Cisco nodded. “Okay. Thank you,” Cisco mouthed to Lisa, backing up after Caitlin as she hurried out of the warehouse showroom. “Give us, like, five, ten minutes max-- Seriously, thank you.” 

Lisa wiggled her fingers in a little wave after him. “Bye, Cisco.”

"Remind me why we had to rescue them again?" Shawna asked Lisa, the second Caitlin and Cisco had left. "You promised me the Rogues would be about diamonds and cash, not bailing out our jailers."

“He saved my life,” Lisa said seriously. “I don’t take that lightly.” She gave a small shrug. “Now we’re even.” 

“Doesn’t mean we need to be on babysitting duty for them.” Hartley kicked a colourful water pistol away from Zoey’s hand before claiming it from the floor. He hopped off the stage with the gun and its gold twin. “Clark’s awake, by the way.”

There was a huff from the stage floor and Zoey sat up, looking disgruntled. 

“Buzzkill,” Zoey accused with a pout, combing her fingers through mussed hair. “That was some right hook,” she said, scowling at Shawna.

“Welcome,” Shawna quipped.

“Prank,” Lisa greeted. 

“ _Golden Glider_.” Zoey simpered back. “Some criminal, working with the Flash. Nice con, playing criminal to catch them.” 

Shawna scoffed. “We are not working with the Flash.” 

“Then why were you so buddy-buddy with his little friends?” 

“You have a very interesting definition of what friendship looks like,” Hartley said snidely, sliding the Axid guns across the floor and away from him.

Lisa peered curiously at him over her shoulder. “Are you qualified to speak on what it looks like, Hart?” 

Hartley rolled his head round to meet her amused gaze. “I’ll try my best,” he sneered. He raised his hands; there was a blast from his gauntlets and the plastic guns and the gold shine coating one disintegrated. Pink gunk oozed out, steaming as it ate through the checkered linoleum floor. 

“If they aren’t your friends, why stop us melting them?” Zoey sulked. “I heard you talking. You _like_ them.”

“I like people owing me, not the other way around,” Lisa said, eyes hard, all playfulness vanishing. “It’s one of the few good things I share with my jerk brother. My debt to them has been squared, one bucket of acid in exchange for a bomb. If anything now the ice queen owes me, as she had nothing on me to begin with. That’ll be something fun to save for a rainy day, but right now I’m more interested in the fact that you and him owe me.“

“Says who.” 

Lisa smirked. “You evaded the authorities for over twenty years, a streak that was bound to be broken by the Flash or any one of his little friends. Everyone--” she paused indulgently “-- _almost_ everyone who’s gone up against the Flash and his friends has ended up behind bars. Why ruin a perfect record?” 

Zoey spluttered. “We only got stopped by you. That hardly sounds like you were doing us a _favour_ ,” she spat. “We could’ve made them into _mush--!_ ”

“Consider yourself lucky that you didn’t get to.” Lisa’s icy tone speared through Zoey’s objection. “How do you think the Flash would react if you killed his very bestest friends? You think you’d end up anywhere other than in Iron Heights solitary for the rest of your life?” 

Zoey opened her mouth to retort, however her expression soured. “What do you want?” she asked. 

“The same thing you do,” Lisa offered. “New friends.” She smiled when Zoey looked confused. “You have skills with chemicals, and your hellion is good with explosives. We’ve had our eye on a score for a while that would benefit from those skills.” 

“You want us to work for you?” Zoey asked, stunned. 

“Why not?” Lisa asked. “You don’t see the inside of Iron Heights and neither does your son, and you gain something sparkly and some powerful new friends. Everybody wins.”

Zoey got to her feet slowly, eyes on the Gold Gun, ensuring it stayed safely holstered at Lisa’s thigh. “So your little friendly routine with the B-team--” 

“What?” Lisa purred. “Prank doesn’t recognise a _trick_ when she sees one?” 

Zoey put her hand over her heart with a mock gasp. “Oh,” she crowed, “you’re good.”

“I know. So-- are you in?”

“How could I not be?” Zoey smiled. “It sounds like so much fun.” 

Lisa smiled. “Good choice. Shawna?” 

Shawna nodded. She jabbed her thumb at Axel on the floor, just beginning to stir. “Grab the kid, would you?” 

Axel swayed, blinking blearily as he was hauled to his feet between Lisa and Hartley. “Did we win?” he asked groggily.

“Yes, Booboo,” Zoey said slowly, giving Lisa a sly smile. “I think we did.” 

Shawna gripped Lisa and Zoey’s arms, then with a nod to them all, they vanished in a chain of smoke.


End file.
